English 277 Yu Hua TestSend the completed test to raymoye@coastal.edu by Friday, December 14th by 12 midnight.All questions are 5 points each,EXCEPT FOR THOSE MARKED “TEN POINTS.” Answer all the questions this time.

I. THE BLOOD

1. He Xiaoyong tells Xu Yulan, “Do you think I would waste my precious see on a bitch like you?” Why is this “seed” so precious? How many drops of blood goes into producing one drop of it?

2. When Xu Sanguan accuses Xu Yulan of infidelity, she defends herself by pointing out that there was some blood when they first had sex. Her husband simply dismisses this evidence by noting that she was “on vacation.”

What does “vacation” refer to in this instance? Is that what Xu Yulan means? What does female blood represent? How does this cultural interpretation of biology reinforce gender hierarchies?

3. How is the male’s dominant role and the role of his “blood” challenged in this novel? Look

for a specific chapter. Who does more work?

4. Why will Xu Sanguan not spend his “blood money” on Yile?

5. What happens to Xu Sanguan in the course of the novel? Is being a father all about sharing blood? How do “father and son” come to be father and son?

6. In the Cultural Revolution, who was the “father” of the Chinese? Is it at all hurtful to Xu Sanguan when Yile says he

is the person he loves second best? See page 179.

II. MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

My mother holding me. My four sisters (2 oldest are twins). Unknown little boy in left corner.

My uncle Marvin and my Pa.1. What type of marriage do we

have in this novel? Do Xu

Sanguan and Xu Yulan love each other? Is love between husband and wife necessary to have a lasting marriage and raise a family?

2. Xu Sanguan brings Xu Yulan’s father some cigarettes and wine, but these are not as effective as one other benefit he names. What is it? Why is it so valuable, especially in China? A SIMPLE SHORT ANSWER REQUIRED: WHAT DOES XU SANGUAN HAVE TO OFFER THAT HIS COMPETITION, HE XIAOYONG, DOES NOT HAVE? (REMEMBER THAT FAMILY NAMES COME FIRST IN CHINESE.)

3. Xu Yulan isn’t exactly nuts over Xu Sanguan. In fact, she seems more attracted to another chap (which leads to a very problematic situation once Blacksmith Fang’s son gets bashed and someone has to pay the hospital bill). What would happen in a Western narrative which started out with a woman being denied the opportunity to marry whom she wanted? What is surprising (and very Chinese) about how Xu Yulan deals with the situation? You might compare this situation to the classic Western one in ROMEO AND JULIET.

4. A bespectacled man comes to the door carrying 10 pounds of soup bones, mung beans and other assorted groceries. Where did he get these and what is the problem?

5. TEN POINTSWhen Xu Sanguan is found guilty of infidelity on his doorstep (and perhaps even of rape), how does Xu Yulan react? What would happen if this were a Western marriage based on romantic love? I forgot to mention that Xu Yulan seems pretty upset about the bespectacled man toting off the soup bones, mung beans, etc. She seems

to forget for a moment the fact that her husband has cheated on her. Where are her priorities?

6. TEN POINTSWhat does this family endure in the course of the novel? How does it survive? Would the average Western family fare as well? Describe at least one example of a hardship or crisis this family faces and survives it. How would your family hold up if one of its members was arrested and made to stand in the street with a sign around his/her neck detailing what he/she had done?

III. Public and Private Spaces

1. What is surprising about the way Xu Yulan confesses her infidelity? Where does she do it? To whom?

2. TEN POINTSThis family has a problem with Yile. When he sort of runs away and goes to find his “real” father, who tells Xu Sanguan about his son’s situation? How are the intimate problems of Xu Sanguan’s family shared out? How is the notion of “family” being extended here? Who feels responsible for Yile? (Aside, of

course, from his mother and “father.”) When Xu Sanguan starts out on his journey to go to the seriously ill Yile in Shanghai, where does he get the money he needs?

3.When Xu Sanguan goes on his epic quest to save his son, he encounters an old man sleeping with 2 pigs to stay warm. The old man, a perfect stranger, gives the pigs to Xu Sanguan to warm him up. What does this say about the sense of OBLIGATION in Chinese society? About the role of community and family?

4.In another instance, Xu Sanguan is helped by 2 brothers, who actually sell him their blood when they discover that 1 bowl of their blood is worth more than 2 of his. He gets a discount and can then sell 2 bowls of blood instead of 1. What is the relationship like between these casual strangers? Note what Xu Sanguan tells Laishun when the group separates and the two brothers depart on their barge. Does Xu Sanguan care about these brothers?

5. Finally, how is this entire story a real tribute to the Chinese people? What does it show us about them? How does it help us understand how they have

survived so much and endured for so long?